Foot steering apparatus for outboard motor boats



17, 1951 P. H. CORBETT ET AL 2,968,273

FOOT STEERING APPARATUS FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR BOATS I Filed Jan. 19, 1959 sSheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

\ Philip H. Corbezz and BY James Brace.

Jan. 17, 1961 P. H. CORBETT ET AL 2,968,273

FOOT STEERING APPARATUS FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR BOATS Filed Jan. 19, 1959 5Sheets-Sheet 2 IbgENTOR. Phzlzp H. orbetz and dc Brace mes A 7"7'ORNEYS1951 P. H. CORBETT ETAL 2,968,273 v FOOT STEERING APPARATUS FOR OUTBOARDMOTOR BOATS Filed Jan. 19, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Phil p H.CO/befl- BY ames Brace.

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United States FOOT STEERING APPARATUS FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR BOATS 3 Claims.(Cl. 114-153) This invention relates to foot steering apparatus foroutboard motor boats, and has for an object to provide an extensionsteering apparatus which will enable the operator of an outboard motorboat to steer it with his foot thereby leaving him free to use bothhands in fishing or other operations.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an apparatus forremote steering of an outboard motor boat in which a lever arm ispivotally mounted on a bracket that is removably clamped to the boat andsaid lever arm connected to the motor by a detachable connection, andthe lever arm moved by a flexible connection to a pedal selectivelypositioned in the boat whereby the steering apparatus may be quickly andeasily applied to the boat or removed therefrom; to provide such asteering apparatus wherein the foot pedal support rests on a supportingsurface, such as the bottom of the boat, and is held in position duringsteering operations by the pressure of the foot of the operator wherebythe foot pedal may be positioned at any convenient or desired locationin the boat and selectively moved to permit the operator to face in anydirection desired; to provide such a steering mechanism that isadaptable for mounting on outboard motor boats of existing constructionwithout entailing any modification or permanent mounting devices; and toprovide a foot steering apparatus for outboard motor boats which iseconomical to manufacture, easy to install and eflicient in operation.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein are set forth by way of illustration and examplecertain embodiments of this invention.

Fig. l is a partial perspective view of a boat provided with an outboardmotor equipped with the foot steering apparatus embodying the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the boat with the outboardmotor and steering mechanism shown in front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the boat onthe line 33, Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the boat on the line 44,Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the lever arm and bracket andconnection to the outboard motor.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

The numeral 1 designates generally a boat or other suitable water craftwith an outboard motor 2 attached to the transom 3 by the use ofconventional clamps 4, said outboard motor having a bail 5 extendingforwardly therefrom with a steering arm 6 connected to said bail, saidbail 5 and arm 6 being usual with conventional outboard motors andemployed to move the outboard motor to one side or the other inaccordance with the direction in which it is desired to steer the boat.The motor 2 is also of conventional structure and tiltable to raise thepropeller to clear shallow areas. The boat 1 has a bottom 7 and a seat 8extending transversely of the boat in forwardly spaced relation to thetransom 3.

The foot steering apparatus includes a pedal 9 pivotally mounted on abase plate 10 having a flat underface 11 tent Patented Jan. 17, 1961preferably provided with an anti-skid surface 12, for example a sheet ofribbed rubber suitably adhered as by adhesive to the bottom face 11 ofthe plate 10. The plate 10 has upwardly turned side flanges 13 withupstanding extensions or cars 13' midway the length thereof with bearingpins 14 in said ears to pivotally mount the depending side flanges 15 ofa foot plate 16 of the pedal 9 whereby the foot plate 16 may be actuatedby the foot of an operator to rock same about the axis of the pins 14.The foot plate 16 has spaced members depending from the central portionthereof to form a post 17 with a fastener member 18 pivotally mountedadjacent the lower end of the post near the base plate 10. The fastener18 has one end 19 of a bendable relatively stifi wire 20 securedthereto. The wire 20 extends from the fastener 18 into an open end 21 ofa tubular flexible sheath 22. The end 21 of the sheath is secured to anupstanding flange or rib 23 extending from the upper face of the baseplate 10 with suitable fasteners such as nuts or the like 24 on eachside of the flange to anchor the end 21 of the sheath thereto. The end21 of the sheath is spaced from the fastener 18 through all themovements of the pedal, and the rocking movement of the foot plate onthe axis of the pins 14 moves the fastener 18 toward and away from theend 21 of the sheath, thereby moving the wire 20 in the sheath 22. Theother end 25 of the sheath extends through a flange 26 depending from aguide member 27 secured to a bracket 28. The sheath is held relative tothe flange 26 by suitable fastening devices such as nuts 29 whereby theother end 30 of the wire 20 extends .from the end 25 of the sheath atthe flange 26.

The bracket 28 is an elongate member adapted to be positionedsubstantially upright in engagement with the transom 3 or other portionof the boat on which the motor 2 is mounted. The bracket 28 includes aclamp member 31 at the upper end thereof whereby the bracket is clampedto the transom 3 of the boat. The bracket 28 also has a bar portion 28'at the upper end and extending laterally to engage the upper edge of thetransom 3 of the boat to act as a stabilizer resisting lateral movementof the lower end of the bracket. The lower end of the bracket member isturned outwardly as at 32 and then upwardly to define an ear 33 onwhichrthe lower end of a lever arm 34 is pivotally mounted as by a bolt35. In the illustrated structure, the lever arm is formed of two pieceswhereby the lower end is bifurcated to straddle the ear 33, and aportion 36 substantially in alignment with the end 25 of the sheath 22is provided with spaced portions in which is pivotally mounted afastener 37 to which the end 30 of the wire 20 is anchored as by screws38. The lever arm 34 extends upwardly and forwardly from the portion 36through a slot 39 in the guide 27 but then is otlset forwardly as at 40whereby the upper end 41 has a fitting 42 secured thereto carrying aball 43 of a ball arid socket connector 44 to form a universalconnection with one end of a steering link 45, the other end car 47 anda stop 53 whereby the spring urges the link downwardly to maintain thekeeper pin 51 engaged with the washer 50. This arrangement provides someplay for the connection between the link 45 and the ear 47, and furtherprovides a quick disconnect to permit the operator to quickly change tohand steering if desired. This also provides a quick disconnectifdesired when tilting the motor 2 to extreme positions. To make thedisconnect, the keeper pin 51 is pulled from the link end and the spring52 moves the link downwardly to disengage same from the ear 47, wherebytilting of the motor will not be interfered with by the steeringmechanism.

In assembling a steering mechanism constructed as described on a boat inwhich a motor 2 has been secured, the member 47 is secured to the bail 5to position the car 47 whereby it extends forwardly and substantiallyhorizontally from the bail 5. The clamp '31 is then opened, and thebracket 28 positioned on the transom in laterally spaced relation to themotor with the bar 28 engaging the upper edge of the transom 3, and thepedal is placed in the boat with the base plate resting'on the bottom orother portion of the boat, and then the portion 45' of the link 45 is,inserted into the opening 46 in the ear 47, the washer 50 placedthereon, and the keeper pin 51 inserted to complete the connection ofthe link with the ear 47. The bracket 28 is then moved laterally untilthe lever arm 34 is substantially upright midway between the ends of theslot 39, at which position the foot plate 16 should be substantiallyhorizontal. Then the clamp 31 is tightened to secure the bracket 28 tothe boat transom or the like. The steering apparatus is then ready foruse. The operator assumes his position on the seat as he desires, eitherfacing forwardly, rearwardly or to the side, and he then slides thepedal base plate over the bottom of the boat to a convenient positionwhereby his foot may comfortably rest on the pedal foot plate 16. Then,by swinging the pedal with his foot, the wire 20 is moved relative tothe sheath 22 to swing the lever arm 34 to pivot the motor and steer theboat, as, for example, when the pedal foot plate is moved to a positionas illustrated in Fig. 2 the boat will turn to the left, and if the footplate is inclined in the opposite direction the boat will turn to theright. The wire 20 is a stiff wire that will take the curvature definedby the sheath 22 but still have suflicient rigidity that it willtransmit the force from the pedal to the lever arm 34 to swing the motorand steer the boat.

It is to be understood that while We have illustrated and described oneform of our invention, it is not to be limited to the specific form orarrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as suchlimitations are included in the claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Foot steering apparatus for an outboard motor boat having an outboardmotor mounted thereon to turn about a vertical axis comprising, abracket, clamp means on the upper end of the bracket for removablymounting said bracket on a boat in laterally spaced relation to theoutboard motor, a lever arm, means pivotally mounting the lever arm onthe bracket whereby the lever arm is swingable thereon, a link, meanspivotally connecting one end of the link to the lever arm, a plateclamped on the outboard motor and extending forwardly therefrom, a pinportion on the other end of said link pivotally connected tosaid plate,spring means between the link and plate and urging the link indisconnected relation thereto, a keeper removably mounted on the linkpin portion to hold same in operative position relative to the plate, apedal base plate having a fiat bottom surface for resting on asupporting surface in the boat, a foot plate pivoted on the pedal baseplate whereby the foot plate has rocking movement relative thereto, anda flexible connection from the foot plate to the lever arm in spacedrelation to the pivotal mounting thereof whereby the operator of theboat may steer it by rocking the foot plate on the base plate andtransmitting the movement through the flexible connection, the lever armand link to the outboard motor to turn same on its vertical axis.

2. Foot steering apparatus for an outboard motor boat having an outboardmotor mounted thereon to turn about a vertical axis comprising, abracket, clamp means on the end of said link pivotally connecting saidlink to the out-- board motor in spaced relation to the turning axisthereof, removable means on the link pin portion to hold same inoperative position relative to said outboard motor, a pedal base platehaving a flat bottom surface for resting on a supporting surface in theboat, spaced upstanding ears on said base plate, an elongated foot platepivoted substantially midway its ends on the upper ends of said baseplate ears whereby the foot plate has rocking movement relative thereto,a stiff bendable wire, means connecting one end of said wire to thelever arm in spaced relation to the pivotal mounting thereof, meansconnecting the other end of the stiff wire to the foot plate in spacedrelation to the pivotal mounting thereof, a fiexible sheath surroundingsaid stilf wire and slidable thereon, means securing one end of saidsheath to the base plate, and means securing the other end of the sheathto the bracket, said base plate being slidable in any direction on saidsupporting surface within the radius of said wire while said base plateremains operatively connected to said bracket and said foot plateremains operatively connected to said lever arm whereby the operator ofthe boat may steer it by rocking the foot plate on the base plate andtransmitting the movement through the stiff wire, lever arm and link tothe outboard motor to turn same on its vertical axis.

3. Foot steering apparatus for an outboard motor boat having an outboardmotor mounted thereon to turn about a vertical axis comprising, abracket, clamp means on the upper end of the bracket for removablymounting said bracket on a boat in laterally spaced relation to theoutboard motor, a lever arm, means pivotally mounting the lower end ofthe lever arm on the lower end of the bracket whereby the lever arm isswingable crosswise of the boat, a link, means pivotally connecting oneend of the link to the upper portion of the lever arm, a plate clampedon the outboard motor and extending forwardly therefrom, a pin portionon the other end of said link pivotally connected to said plate, springmeans between the link and plate and urging the link toward,disconnected relation thereto, a keeper removably mounted on the linkpin portion to hold same in operative position relative to the plate, apedal base plate having a fiat bottom surface for resting on asupporting surface in the boat, spaced upstanding ears on said pedalbase plate, a foot plate pivoted at the upper ends of said ears on thepedal base plate whereby the foot plate has rocking movement relativethereto, a post on the foot plate and depending therefrom, a stiffbendable wire, means connecting one end of said wire to the lever arm inupwardly spaced relation to the pivotal mounting thereof, meansconnecting the other end of the stiff wire to the foot plate post, asheath surrounding said stiff wire and slidable thereon, means securingone end of said sheath to the base plate in spaced relation to the post,and means securing the other end of the sheath to the bracket wherebythe operator of the boat may steer it by rocking the foot plate on thebase plate and transmitting the movement through the stiff wire, thelever arm and link to the outboard motor to turn same on its verticalaxis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

